Cow Parade

Cow Parade

Varies

The Cow Parade is the world's largest public art exhibition. Since its inception in 1999, the Cow Parade has made appearances in cities all over the world, including Sydney, Auckland, Tokyo, Moscow, Istanbul, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Paris, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City, as well as over a dozen locations in the U.S.In each location, the event revolves around fiberglass statues of cows. The undecorated figures are turned over to local artists who then adorn the cows in creative ways. Their designs are frequently based on themes and events with special significance to their locality. After the artists have completed the work on the cows, the statues are displayed in various public locations around the host city. The exhibition continues for several weeks, after which the statues are auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting charities designated by local organizers of the Cow Parade. Besides being a means to raise money for charitable causes, the Cow Parade is meant to bring art to the masses. The cow statues may not represent high art, but they are highly accessible and demonstrate that art can be playful as well as serious.Although there are some variations, the cows used are usually those created by Pascal Knapp, a Swiss sculptor. The cow was chosen as a subject because of its status as an animal that is known and valued around the world. Knapp designed three cows to be used in the competitions: a standing cow, a grazing cow, and a cow lying at rest.Since its first staging in 1999, the Cow Parade has grown dramatically. New artists are challenged and inspired by the work of previous entrants. More than 3,000 cows have been decorated, and they have been viewed by more than 100 million people. Through the Cow Parade, millions of dollars have been raised for charities; in Chicago's auction in 1999, approximately $3 million was raised for local charities, with the average price of a cow being about $25,000. Miniature replicas of the cows have also become valued collector's items.

Constance' is a wonderful example of how a contemporary art exhibit in the Harrisburg region can connect to the birthplace of our nation and our state's rich political history," said Byron Quann, President and CEO of Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, the organization responsible for bringing CowParade to Pennsylvania.

CowParade was initiated in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1998, and both the 2000 CowParade in New York City and the 1999 CowParade in Chicago were widely touted as the most successful public art programs in the cities' histories.

And, in 2005, he was selected by local sponsors of the CowParade to be one of 150 Argentine artists to express their artistic vision on the life-size form of a fiberglass cow--only the second time the cow-as-art phenomenon has been staged in a South American country since it began hi Zurich in 1998.

More light-hearted attractions range from a farmers market to a RABI auction of 10 colourful fibreglass cows, displayed in central London this summer as part of CowParade, an alternative public art event.

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